Perception (NF album)

Perception is the third studio album by American hip hop artist NF. It was released on October 6, 2017, through Capitol Records alongside NF's newly launched label NF Real Music.[6][7] The album was entirely produced by American producers Tommee Profitt and David Garcia, and features a guest performance from American singer Ruelle. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Perception
Studio album by NF
Released	October 6, 2017 (2017-10-06)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	61:38
Label	Capitol Caroline NF Real Music
Producer	Tommee Profitt David Garcia
NF chronology
Therapy Session (2016) Perception (2017) The Search (2019)
Singles from Perception
"Outro" Released: August 2, 2017[1] "Green Lights" Released: August 18, 2017[2] "Let You Down" Released: October 3, 2017[3] "Lie" Released: April 17, 2018[4] "If You Want Love" Released: January 22, 2019[5]

Background and release

"Outro" was released on August 2, 2017, as the first single from a then unnamed upcoming album.[8] Fans speculated that the album's title would be Perception based on information found in the “Green Lights” music video.[9] Three days before the album's release, NF released the single "Let You Down", which would become his first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In an interview with Rap.de, NF explained the album was about his perception, though it could be "from anyone in the world".[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
CCM Magazine	[12]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[13] [14]

CCM Magazine's Matt Conner gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying "The maturity and musical experimentation grows on Perception, yet the dynamism and authenticity remain firmly in place."[12] David Craft of Jesus Freak Hideout gave the album a below-average review, awarding it two out of five stars due to a lack of originality and redundancy. He stated that "Perception essentially consists of NF spending an hour yelling at listeners about his thinly-veiled insecurities while simultaneously bragging about how great he is" and that there were a few "glimmers of quality", but that "NF exercises neither patience nor humility on Perception."[13] Kevin Hoskins, also of Jesus Freak Hideout, gave a more positive "second opinion" review, giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying the album's biggest flaw was that it is "very one-dimensional" but praised the album for its continuity of emotional lyrics and thematic production from NF's previous albums by saying "Perception does not offer fans anything exceptionally new, but current fans will truly appreciate the fire Nate spits on these highly emotional rap tunes. As always, the thematic production is easily noticed making this a complete NF album, even though it falls short of his previous discography."[14]

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5, describing the album as a "heavy and serious listen" and described NF's lyrics as "continually engrossing".[11]

Commercial performance

Perception debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 with 55,000 album-equivalent units, including 38,000 pure album sales in its first week,[15] becoming both NF's first US top 10 and No. 1 album.[15] In its second week, the album fell to No. 25 with 18,000 album-equivalent units of which 5,000 were in traditional album sales.[16] On March 22, 2018, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States.[17] On January 11, 2019, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1,000,000 units in the United States.[18]

As of August 2019, the album has earned 1.1 million equivalent album units, with 160,000 coming from album sales.[19]

Track listing

All songs produced by Tommee Profitt and David Garcia. Credits adapted from Tidal.[20]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro III"	Nathan Feuerstein Tommee Profitt	4:28
2.	"Outcast"	Feuerstein Profitt	5:25
3.	"10 Feet Down" (featuring Ruelle)	Feuerstein Profitt Elley Duhé Devin Guisande Kyle Guisande	3:37
4.	"Green Lights"	Feuerstein Garcia Profitt	3:01
5.	"Dreams"	Feuerstein Profitt	3:41
6.	"Let You Down"	Feuerstein Profitt	3:32
7.	"Destiny"	Feuerstein Profitt Cameron Doyle	3:59
8.	"My Life"	Feuerstein Garcia	3:35
9.	"You're Special"	Feuerstein Profitt	5:12
10.	"If You Want Love"	Feuerstein Profitt	3:19
11.	"Remember This"	Feuerstein Profitt	4:00
12.	"Know"	Feuerstein Profitt	3:58
13.	"Lie"	Feuerstein Profitt Mike Elizondo, Jr.	3:29
14.	"3 A.M."	Feuerstein Garcia	3:38
15.	"One Hundred"	Feuerstein Garcia Brendon Coe	3:12
16.	"Outro"	Feuerstein Garcia Profitt	3:32
Total length:			61:38

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[20]

Musicians

• NF – vocals, composer (all tracks)
• Brendon Coe – composer (track 15)
• Cameron Doyle – composer (track 7)
• Elley Duhé – composer (track 3)
• Mike Elizondo – composer (track 13)
• David Garcia – composer (tracks 4, 8, 14–16)
• Devin Guisande – composer (track 3)
• Kyle Guisande – composer (track 3)
• Tommee Profitt – composer (tracks 1–7, 9–13, 16)
• Ruelle – guest vocals (track 3)

Production Vinnie Alibrandi – post-producer Chris Athens – mastering (all tracks) Mike Bozzi – mastering (all tracks) David Garcia – producer (all tracks) Tommee Profitt – producer (all tracks)

Design NF – art direction Jon Taylor Sweet – photography Joshua Wurzelbacher – art direction, package design

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017–2020) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 73 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 89 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23] 14 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[24] 8 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 57 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 22 French Albums (SNEP)[27] 159 New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[28] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[29] 10 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 22 US Billboard 200[15] 1 US Independent Albums (Billboard)[31] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[32] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[33] 81 Chart (2018) Position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 33 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[35] 57 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 72 US Billboard 200[37] 40 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[38] 23 Chart (2019) Position Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[39] 98 US Billboard 200[40] 88 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[41] 76

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[42]	Platinum	80,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[43]	Platinum	20,000
United States (RIAA)[44]	Platinum	1,000,000
^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Outro - Single by NF on Apple Music". August 2, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
2. "Green Lights - Single by NF on Apple Music". August 18, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
3. "Top 40/R Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". All Access. October 18, 2017. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
4. "Top 40/R Future Releases – Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". All Access. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
5. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
6. "NF Is Due For A Breakthrough With New Album 'Perception'". Idolator.
7. "Tom Petty, Lil Pump & NF Vying for No. 1 on Next Week's Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard.
8. Longs, Herb. "NF Releases New Single "Outro"". thechristianbeat.org. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
9. NFVEVO (August 17, 2017), NF - Green Lights, retrieved October 23, 2018
10. "Interview mit NF über "Perception", Eminem-Vergleiche und die Kirche - rap.de". rap.de (in German). November 16, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
11. Z. Yeung, Neil (October 14, 2017). "NF – 'Perception' album review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
12. Conner, Matt (October 14, 2017). "NF – 'Perception' album review". CCM Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
13. Craft, David (October 14, 2017). "NF – 'Perception' album review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
14. Hoskins, Kevin. "NF, "Perception" Review: Second Staff Opinion". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
15. Caulfield, Keith (October 16, 2017). "NF Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Perception'". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
16. "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Adele's '25' Hits 100th Consecutive Week on Chart". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
17. "American album certifications – NF". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
18. "NF Twitter Post about Album going Platinum". Retrieved March 1, 2019.
19. "NF Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'The Search'". Billboard.
20. "Perception - NF". Tidal. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
21. "ARIA Chart Watch #442". auspOp. October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
22. "Ultratop.be – NF – Perception" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
23. "NF Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
24. "Danishcharts.dk – NF – Perception". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
25. "Dutchcharts.nl – NF – Perception" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
26. "NF: Perception" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
27. "Lescharts.com – NF – Perception". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
28. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
29. "Norwegiancharts.com – NF – Perception". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
30. "Swedishcharts.com – NF – Perception". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
31. "NF Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
32. "NF Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
33. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
34. "Canadian Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
35. "Album Top-100 2018" (in Danish). Hitlisten. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
36. "Årslista Album – År 2018" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
37. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
38. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
39. "Album Top-100 2019" (in Danish). Hitlisten. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
40. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
41. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
42. "Canadian album certifications". Music Canada.
43. "Danish album certifications – NF – Perception". IFPI Denmark.
44. "American album certifications – NF – Perception". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 9, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.